Current reconstruction methods use a patient’s own bone graft tissues, harvested from the lower leg, hip and shoulder.

According to Mikos: “We chose to use ribs because they’re easily accessed and a rich source of stem cells and vessels, which infiltrate the scaffold and grow into new bone tissue that matches the patient.” New bone can potentially be grown on multiple ribs, simultaneously.

The technology has only been tested on animals, but shows promise, with custom geometry and a reduced risk of rejection.